"Heartbreaker"

True Panther

Artists:

The "Heartbreaker" mp3 was released with a scanned, handwritten thank you letter from Girls' Christopher Owens. "All of us have something to say and give," he wrote somewhat legibly, "and this is what happens when we show a little interest and support in others." This would presumably refer to the first new recording (they've been playing it live for nearly a year) we've heard from the San Francisco guitar pop classicists since last year's Album,a debut that garnered both support and interest from enough listeners to earn the band a studio budget larger than any they've had before. "Heartbreaker" sounds like an equally warm embrace in return. Owens' amber chord progression is cozy and familiar, JR White's bass in the highest of spirits. But as is often the case with Owens' songs, there's an unmistakable, implacable melancholy there weighing down otherwise weightless sonics. It's not so much his tale of love long gone, but an image of himself, all alone, sandwiched in between: "There's a voice in the back of my head that says you're always going to be alone/ Go turn the TV on and turn off the telephone." He might consider reading that letter one more time.